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Future games for the Wii U and 3DS will be released both to retail and online on the same day, as Nintendo reveals its plans to embrace digital downloads with New Super Mario Bros. 2.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 – available in shops and online

Despite their famous apathy for online features Nintendo has announced that in the future all their games will be available to purchase as digital downloads, starting with New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS this August.’For our digital business to grow drastically, it is imperative for us to expand the exposure of the digital download products to potential consumers,’ said Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata, following the company’s full year financial results yesterday .

‘Starting from [New Super Mario Bros. 2], the company will offer the software titles that Nintendo itself publishes in both packaged and digital download formats so that our consumers can choose the way to purchase them,” Iwata told investors .

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There have already been plenty of rumours of an app store and an Xbox Live style ‘Nintendo Network’ for the Wii U, and it’s been clear for a while that Nintendo wants to take digital distribution more seriously. But the plans for the 3DS come much sooner than anyone expected.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 was given an August release date when it was announced a few days ago, although it’s not yet clear whether that’s a Japanese date or worldwide. It’s also not certain that the digital plans will apply to Europe straight away.The plan seems to be to make games available from the existing eShop on the 3DS (which just got a facelift yesterday) and via download codes to be sold in High Street stores and online retailers. Stores will be free to dictate their own prices for the codes, regardless of what Nintendo charges for the game online.Iwata insists that all Nintendo’s own games will be available online ‘from day one of the Wii U’s launch’. The Wii U is due for release this year, with an exact release date expected to be announced at E3 in June.

What won’t be announced at E3 though is the Wii U’s price, which Iwata has indicated won’t be revealed until ‘after E3’.